Yesterday I covered the near worthless copy on the Just Fruits and Exotics site, then shared Josh Jamison’s writing over at Cody Cove Farm as a shining counterpoint to this current trend of AI slop.
Here is another Jamison description chosen at random:
Vietnamese Pomegranate
Pomegranates are a Mediterranean species that is generally poorly adapted to Florida. High humidity causes fungal problems which makes for poor fruiting or premature rotting in fruit before full development. Vietnam pomegranate is an exception to this rule, being a variety with a long track record of good performance in Florida. Specimens are even reported to fruit well in muggy Miami-Dade County. Vietnam pomegranate would not be considered a gourmet/choice variety in climates where many varieties can be grown, but it is the best we have for the time being. It is a hard seeded type. Fruit often splits and not all of them ripen perfectly, but perfectly good pomegranates can be harvested from the trees.
Our plants are grown from seed. Generally, named cultivars of pomegranate are grown from air layers or cuttings. This type seems to be an exception in the nursery trade. After speaking with several fruit growers, including a Florida pomegranate specialist, we learned that it is typical to grow this variety from seed and this is often what is offered in nurseries. Trees are known to grow mostly true to type and fruit quickly from seed. For this reason, Vietnam pomegranate should probably be considered a “seedling line” of pomegranate rather than a cultivar. Variation from seed opens up potential for the selection of better or more productive cultivars.
Now let’s compare that to a pomegranate description at Just Fruits and Exotics:
Kaj-Acik-Anor Pomegranate Tree
Experience the exquisite taste and abundant health benefits of the Kaj-Acik-Anor Pomegranate Tree. With its vibrant red fruit and easy-to-care-for nature, this tree is a must-have addition to your garden. Order online now for a fresh and flavorful harvest.
Which pomegranate description captures your interest and imagination?
Josh educates and gives the good and the bad, informing his customers and building trust.
Just Fruits and Exotics is a long-standing and respected nursery with a vast selection.
Here’s their old description of Illinois Everbearing mulberry from 2023, thanks to the Internet Wayback Machine:
Illinois Everbearing is touted as one of the longest ripening mulberry varieties. Reddish black fruits are up to 1 1/2 inch long. Excellent quality. Trees are large growers, but can be kept small with a hard prune after fruiting. Fruit ripens early-May to early June.
And here is the current copy:
Luscious Illinois Everbearing Mulberry Tree, a bountiful bearer of sweet, plump berries. Perfect for gardens. Order online now for home orchard delight.
Which description makes you want to try growing this tree? The first description isn’t fluffy and vague. It tells you about the tree. The second is frosting with no cake.
If I could share one piece of advice with them, it would be this: get someone who knows and loves plants and have them write the copy. You can definitely market the tree as you educate, but if you have just breezy marketing copy with no kernel of knowledge behind it, you’re losing people.
Who. What. When. Where. Why and How is a good place to start.
Who discovered the tree? What is is like? What is is good for? What color is the fruit? When do you plant it? When does it fruit? When does it wake up in spring? Where is it from? Where would you plant it? Why would you want it? Why would you NOT want it? How do you grow it? How do you use it?
The earlier description tells you actual information about the tree. The second doesn’t separate it from any other mulberry! Almost every mulberry we grow is “a bountiful bearer of sweet, plump berries” and is “perfect for gardens.”
Look at Cody Cove Farm and Nursery. Look at Plants for a Future. Look at Grower Jim’s blog.
I would like to see nurseries succeed, and I regularly share links to those that have helped us find the plants we love.
And a final thing:
Don’t Spam Other People’s Businesses with Your Own
The other day I put up a post on the Atmore Farm and Garden Facebook page about our bare-root fruit trees. That post got repeatedly spammed by someone telling everyone to go to a particular nursery to get what we had.
I don’t mind the occasional link to a nursery being shared, but this was ridiculous. The poster was answering all our comments with a “Go to _____ nursery they have _____.” When we looked up the poster, we found it was the husband of the nursery owner. That’s just in poor taste. I wouldn’t dream of posting about our nursery all over another nursery’s page. I actually let the first post go through and commented something like, “That looks like a nice nursery.” But then the commenter posted again and again all through our comments.
Banned!
I want Just Fruits and Exotics and other nurseries to thrive.
Yes, people buy plants there that they could be buying from us, but that’s okay! There are plenty of fish in the sea, and a bit of competition is good. If we have more nurseries it also means we get more food in people’s backyards. It means new varieties get introduced. It means more wholesalers will thrive and propagate good plants. But don’t go spam other people’s pages, especially if you don’t have any relationship with that nursery. For example, we buy citrus from Floradel nursery to re-sell here, and both of us support each other’s work. If I don’t have something Chase has, I send people to him. And if someone lives in our area, he supports us. Sure, we probably “lose” sales to each other, but we make up for it with mutual support.
If we wanted to, we could spam that nursery with the hyperactive husband.
We won’t.
We could even post a negative review.
We won’t.
Instead, we just cut off their posting ability.
Instead of making friends, we are now alienated from each other. Bad will begets bad will. If I had discovered that nursery in a good manner, I would happily re-post their events and pay them a visit. But now? Nah. There are better people out there.
